Friday, May 26, 2017

Human Rights Watch Reports On Beatings & Electrocution Of Gay Men In Chechnya

President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechen Republic

Human Rights Watch has published a report detailing the horrific treatment and torture of gay men in Chechnya.

According to the report, the speaker of Chechnya’s parliament, Magomed Daudov, was involved in authorizing the violence.

Radio Free Europe details the torture ranging from beatings to electrocution devices.

"All of the victims suffered repeated beatings," the report said. "Security officials kicked them with booted feet, beat them with polypropylene pipes and sticks, and made other inmates beat them" -- mostly on the men’s buttocks and legs.

"They put you face down on the floor and beat you with pipes," one victim told Human Rights Watch. "Then they force other prisoners [held for allegedly supporting insurgents or for alleged drug offenses] to carry on with the beating. Each man gets some 70 to 80 blows. And so it goes.... And you literally turn black and blue from waist to toes."

The rights group says local Chechen authorities also used electrocution devices to torture the victims.

Former detainees described those devices as machines with a knob on one side and wires sticking out of it with metal clips at the ends -- clips which were attached to the victims' fingers, toes, and earlobes.

"They turn the knob, electric current hits you, and you start shaking," a former detainee told Human Rights Watch. "And they keep turning the hellish machine, and the pain is just insane. You scream and scream and you no longer know who you are."

"Finally, you faint," the former detainee continued. "It all goes dark. But when you come to your senses, they start all over again. And once they’re done with you and you get your bearings, you hear other inmates screaming. The sounds of torture are just there all day, and at some point you start losing your mind."

Many of the victims were returned to their families where authorities suggested the relatives perform "honor killings"

Human Rights Watch urges the European Union and the United States to intervene and offer sanctuary to the victims.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has called on President Trump to address the human rights violations. Trump has not spoken publicly to date about the ongoing atrocities.